Try This Yourself

Photo Credit: Quotefancy||Jack Kornfield

 

Try This Yourself

In the West, Yoga has been adapted by many so called health professionals who have twisted its purity to convert it into a physical fitness regime. There are umpteen kinds of yoga with their originators claiming that theirs is the best! Patanjali’s yoga which is absolutely pure no longer holds the charm for people who are only concerned about physical fitness, how they look and appear! These are all related to the outer, what happens to the inner fitness?

The inner fitness relates to your mind and heart – your soul really! Have you ever thought about keeping the two most critical parts of your inner being – your mind and heart pure so that the soul, or your inner voice can make an appearance?

The aim of practicing yoga is to prepare you to sit still and steady – it is really your preparation to sit for meditation comfortably. A body that is filled with toxins, weak muscles, and jumpy nerves will not be able to stay still for any length of time. The yoga practice of asanas eliminates the toxins and gives strength and steadiness to your muscles. With a healthy and supple body, you can easily sit still peacefully for meditation. With continuous practice, as you begin to control your body that control will carry over to the mind.

Try this yourself. Any time the mind is agitated, just sit quietly, not moving at all. Let the mind be as agitated as it wants. If your body is still, very soon the mind will calm down all by itself. Why? Because when there is no physical movement, the breath becomes slow; and the breath is the interconnection between mind and body. As the breath slows, the thought-making process slows down and the mind becomes calm.

The asanas or postures help to train the mind. Without purity of body, it is very difficult to purify the mind. Learn to live a natural life. First be physically at ease, and mental peace will follow. Live in a way that makes your body light, healthy and more supple. Then when you sit for meditation, you won’t feel aches and pains and spend your time meditating on them.

It is best to find a qualified yoga instructor who teaches the pure form of yoga to help you achieve that level of physical and mental fitness which will enable you to sit for meditation – the seventh part of the 8-fold path of ashtang yoga. After that is samadhi, the final destination – that can come only with the help of a realised Master. Going it alone is possible, but then you will spend a lifetime in trying to reach the goal – better follow a realised Master who has already prepared the path for you!